The ironic title of Daniel Knorr’s third solo show at Galleria Fonti, “Veni Vidi Napoli” (I Came I Saw Napoli), might well imply that not all battles are swiftly won. The Romanian-born Berlin-based artist works in mixed media (photography, video, sculpture, performances, collage, and drawing) to encourage the viewer to consider what lurks beyond serene and sometimes reassuring surfaces, whether in his work or in broader social and political structures.

This strategy, elaborated in the artist’s writing, was evident in the two series of works that occupied the gallery space. Visitors were welcomed by “Capillaire” (Capillary), 2015, a modular installation consisting of a series of six freestanding columns of acrylic plastic. The captivating appearance of the forms hides their disquieting materiality: Each contains a different type of poisontear gas, hemlock, Zyklon B, and